Dromore, County Clare is a rural

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic origi ...

County Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,817 ...

in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

. It is located in the parish of

Ruan Ruan may refer to: Buildings * Ruan Center, office building in Des Moines, Iowa * John Ruan House, historic mansion in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, t ...

and was formerly the location of Dromore House. Today, most of the townland is accounted for by Dromore Wood Nature Reserve. It is open to the public and also contains the ruins of Dromore Castle.

Geography

Dromore is located between the towns of

Crusheen Crusheen () is a small village in County Clare, Ireland, in the civil parish of Crusheen (Inchicronan). Location The village is 10 kilometres northeast of Ennis on the R458 road to Gort. It is in the parish of Crusheen (Inchicronan) in the Rom ...

and Corofin, west of the

M18 motorway This is a list of roads designated M18. Road entries are sorted in the countries alphabetical order. * M-18 road (Bosnia and Herzegovina) a road connecting Sarajevo, Trnovo, Foča and Trebinje * M18 motorway (Great Britain), a road connecting Ro ...

and north of

Ennis Ennis () is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in County Clare, with a population of 25,27 ...

. The townland also contains

Dromore Lake Dromore Lough () is a freshwater lake in the Mid-West Region of Ireland. It is located in County Clare. Geography Dromore Lough measures about long and wide. It is about north of Ennis near the village of Ruan. Dromore Castle lies on the l ...

, fed by the

River Fergus The River Fergus ( ga, An Forghas) is a river within the Shannon River Basin which flows in County Clare, Ireland. The river begins at Lough Fergus in north Clare and flows into the Shannon Estuary. The source is at Lough Fergus in the townland ...

. The townland features a variety of terrain: rivers, lakes, turloughs, callows (flooded meadows), limestone pavement, fens, reed beds and woodland.

History

Dromore Castle was probably constructed in the early 16th century. In the 17th century, Teige O'Brien of the

O'Brien clan The O'Brien dynasty ( ga, label=Classical Irish, Ua Briain; ga, label=Modern Irish, Ó Briain ; genitive ''Uí Bhriain'' ) is a nobility, noble house of Munster, founded in the 10th century by Brian Boru of the Dál gCais (Dalcassians). After ...

repaired and expanded it. The castle and lands of Dromore had been granted to Teige's father, Connor (Third

Earl of Thomond Earl of Thomond was an hereditary title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created twice for the O'Brien dynasty which is an ancient Irish sept native to north Munster. History and background First creation Under the Crown of Ireland Act 1542, Ki ...

), in 1579. Dermot, son of Teige, was an important protagonist in the Confederate Wars and participated in the Siege of Ballyalla Castle (Ennis). The last O'Brien at the castle was Conor, who left in 1689. The castle fell into ruin in the 18th century. In 1814, Jonas Studdert, third son of Richard Studdert of

Clonderalaw Clonderalaw is an historical barony in County Clare, Ireland. Baronies are geographical divisions of land that are in turn is divided into civil parishes. Legal context Baronies were created after the Norman invasion of Ireland as administrat ...

, lived in Dromore House. He had married Mary Crowe of Dromore in 1795. In 1837, the house was the home of R. Crowe. Although it was originally a hunting lodge, it became the main seat of the Crowe family in the 1830s. In 1855, during

Griffith's valuation Griffith's Valuation was a boundary and land valuation survey of Ireland completed in 1868. Griffith's background Richard John Griffith started to value land in Scotland, where he spent two years in 1806-1807 valuing terrain through the examinati ...

, Thomas Crowe was listed as occupier ("in fee") of Dromore and neighbouring Cahermacrea townlands and some others. In 1901, the Census listed Thomas Crowe as proprietor. Dromore House was sold in 1936 and later demolished. Dromore Wood was bought by the Irish state in the 1940s and subsequently used as a commercial forest. In the 1980s, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (Office of Public Works) took over. In 1985, the area became a statutory nature reserve. Other historical sites nearby include ruined Cahermacrea Castle, the remains of Kilbakee Church, two ring forts, a limekiln, a children's burial ground and a chapel.

Flora and fauna

Notable inhabitants of the area include the pine marten (a local study of this species in the 1970s has become a "major reference for the species"), red squirrels, badgers, stoats, foxes, hares, shrews, wood mice, eight species of bats and otters. Birdlife includes coots, grebes, moorhen, water rail and heron. During the winter floods, teal, wigeon, goldeneye, tufted duck, pochard, shoveler and whooper swans visit. In 2011/12, a white tailed eagle was observed. Insects include dragonflies and various butterfly species.

Today

The Nature Reserve encompasses around 1,000 acres (400 hectares). There is a

Special Area of Conservation A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...

which covers a larger area. The visitor centre is run by the National Parks & Wildlife Service as an offshoot of the

Coole Park Coole Park is a nature reserve of approximately located a few miles west of Gort, County Galway, Ireland. It is managed by the Irish National Parks & Wildlife Service, part of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. The park is in ...

Nature Reserve near

Gort Gort ( or ) is a town of around 3,000 inhabitants in County Galway in the west of Ireland. Located near the border with County Clare, the town lies between the Burren and the Slieve Aughty and is served by the R458 and R460 regional roads, wh ...

. The Dromore Wood Nature Reserve features six marked walking trails of differing length.

External links

Map of the Dromore House demesne and satellite picture of the area

References

{{County Clare Geography of County Clare Birdwatching sites in Ireland Forests and woodlands of the Republic of Ireland Nature reserves in the Republic of Ireland Parks in County Clare Special Areas of Conservation in the Republic of Ireland Tourist attractions in County Clare Wetlands of the Republic of Ireland